Overlap in Internal Validity Between Research Designs
Although there is a general hierarchy of internal validity among research designs, there is also some overlap. For example, a poorly designed experiment that contains many confounding variables can actually have lower internal validity than a well-designed quasi-experiment that has no obvious confounding variables.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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Overlap in Internal Validity Between Research Designs
Arrange the following research designs in order from LOWEST internal validity to HIGHEST internal validity.
A researcher wants to study whether a new therapy reduces anxiety. In Design A, participants are randomly assigned to either the therapy group or a no-therapy control group. In Design B, participants self-select into whichever group they prefer. Which design has higher internal validity, and what is the primary reason?
Based on the spectrum of internal validity, match each research scenario with the level of internal validity it typically provides.
True or False: According to the spectrum of internal validity, the structural feature that distinguishes a true experiment from a quasi-experiment—thereby placing it at the highest level of validity—is the manipulation of an independent variable.
In the comparison of internal validity across research designs, what is the primary structural reason that quasi-experimental research occupies the middle ground between experimental and non-experimental research?
Quasi-experimental research and non-experimental (correlational) research share the same level of internal validity because both lack the random assignment of participants.
A researcher evaluating the rigor of a causal claim finds that a study utilizes strict control over extraneous variables, the manipulation of an independent variable, and random assignment of participants. Consequently, the researcher would judge this design as possessing the _____ level of internal validity on the standard research spectrum.
Match each structural feature to the role it plays in determining where a research design falls on the internal validity spectrum.
A researcher compares a quasi-experimental study and a true experiment that both investigated the same causal relationship. The quasi-experimental study produced a weaker causal conclusion. Analyzing the structural source of this difference, the researcher determines that the quasi-experimental study lacked _____, which allowed pre-existing differences between groups to serve as alternative explanations for the observed outcomes.
A researcher wants to determine whether a new stress-management workshop causes a reduction in student anxiety. Evaluate each design approach below and arrange them in order from the approach that LEAST effectively supports a causal conclusion (order 1) to the approach that MOST effectively supports a causal conclusion (order 3), justifying your ranking based on the internal validity each design provides.
Describe the spectrum of internal validity across true experimental, quasi-experimental, and non-experimental (correlational) research designs. Identify which design is generally the highest, which is the lowest, and which occupies the middle ground, explaining the specific structural characteristics (manipulation, control, and random assignment) that place each design at its respective point on this spectrum.
Identify which of the three main research designs (experimental, quasi-experimental, or non-experimental) this study represents. Explain how its design features place it on the spectrum of internal validity relative to the other two designs.
Suppose you want to design a study to test whether a new reading program increases comprehension. Describe how you would set up the study's independent variable and participant groups to ensure it achieves the highest possible level of internal validity on the research design spectrum.
Learn After
Because of the hierarchy of research designs, a true experiment will always have higher internal validity than a quasi-experiment.
A researcher conducts a true experiment on the effects of sleep on memory but fails to control for participants studying at different times of day, uses inconsistent instructions across conditions, and does not standardize the testing environment. Meanwhile, a colleague uses a quasi-experimental design comparing morning-shift and night-shift workers on alertness, carefully matching groups on age, health, and caffeine use, and holding all other procedures constant. Which statement best explains the relative internal validity of these two studies?
A research methods class is critiquing four studies on stress and academic performance. Match each study description to the most accurate conclusion about its internal validity.
Analyze the following four psychology studies regarding their ability to support causal conclusions. Arrange them in order from the highest degree of internal validity (1) to the lowest degree of internal validity (4), specifically accounting for the potential overlap between design types and procedural quality.
Imagine you are constructing a research protocol to test a new mindfulness program in a correctional facility where random assignment is legally prohibited. To create a design that achieves higher internal validity than a previous randomized experiment on the same topic that suffered from severe researcher bias and inconsistent administration, which synthesis of design elements should you implement?
Which statement best describes the relationship between research design types and internal validity?
The hierarchy of research designs means that a study's internal validity is determined entirely by its design classification (such as experimental vs. quasi-experimental), regardless of the actual quality of its execution or the presence of confounding variables.
A researcher argues that their study is superior to a colleague's simply because it is a true experiment, despite it having several major confounding variables that the colleague's quasi-experiment successfully avoided. This argument is flawed because it ignores the _____ in internal validity that allows a well-designed quasi-experiment to be more valid than a poorly-designed true experiment.
Analyze the relationship between research design types, execution quality, and internal validity. Match each concept or scenario to the description of its internal validity characteristics.
When evaluating the internal validity of different studies, a researcher cannot rely solely on the general design hierarchy because a poorly designed experiment with many confounding variables can have lower internal validity than a well-designed _____.